Joint-closing member and method of making the same



y 5, 1939. E. M. JENKINS 2,167,550

JOINT-CLOSING MEMBER AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Dec. 51, 1935 L/////////// /////////T I.

INVENTOR. Z2 Z1 2% 2 Edward M. Jenkins.

ATTORNEY Patented July 25, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE J OINT-CLOSING MEIWBER AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Edward M. Jenkins, Somerville, N. J., assignor to .l ohns-Manvilie Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 31, 1935, Serial No. 56,899

8 Claims. (01. 18-48) This invention relates to a joint-closing memjoint filler strip, with the wrapper broken away, her and to the method of making and using the for illustration.

same. Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of a modified The invention is particularly useful in connecshape of filler strip. 5 tion with the filling of the joints between adja- Fig. 5 shows an assembly including adjacent 5 cent sections of concrete pavement, roofing, or members forming a joint therebetween and a flooring and will be described for the purpose of filler strip, of the type illustrated in Fig. 4, closillustration in connection therewith. ing the joint.

A particularly successful composition for joint- Fig. 6 shows a sectional view of an assembly 10 filler strips is that made as described in United for making compressed sheet material for use in 10 States Patent 1,960,374 issued to Edmonds 0n forming a stripof shape illustrated in Fig. 4.

May 29, 1934, in the passage beginning with line In making the improved filler strip of the pres- 101 on page 2 and ending with line 5 of page 3. out invention, the selected composition such as Such a composition includes resilient (compresthat described in the said patent to Edmonds is sible and reexpansible) particles, such as granules first shaped and bonded, as, for example, in the of cork, and a thermoset binder mixed therewith form of a "compressible and reexpansible sheet and bonding the particles into a unitary article. II. This sheet is then warmed to an elevated A satisfactory binder is a resinous phenol-aldetemperature adapted to soften the said sheet hyde condensation product including a small but below the temperature of scorching of the proportion of diethylene glycol or like plasticizer. composition. 20

In the said patent, Edmonds states that his The shaped and bonded composition in warm filler strip, when compressed for a period of apcondition is then compressed and is cooled, while proximately twelve hours, undergoes a partial still under compression, if it is desired to set paralysis of resiliency or self-maintained dequickly and effectively the dimensions estabformation that is not permanent, the strip within lished by the compression. The total time for '25 less than one hour after its release from comcompression of the warm material and cooling pression recovering a substantial part of its may be very short, as, for example, only fifteen original normal thickness. minutes or so. In spite of the shortness of time There is need of a precompressed cork filler during which the composition is subjected to strip that will retain substantially the thickness compression, the compressed article will retain 30 established by compression when the strip is in its established dimensions almost indefinitely if storage awaiting sale or installation and that stored in a thoroughly dry environment or promay be transported to a remote location, say, tected from moisture, as by a practically moisacross a continent, without expansion during ture-tight wrapper l2, say, one of waxed paper such transportation to a width such as to interor the like, disposed suitably around the fin- 35 fere with the insertion of the filler within the ished strip or filler member, as shown in Fig. 3,

joint. and protecting the strip from premature expan- The present invention comprises the novel feasion. tures hereinafter described, particularly a joint- In order to prevent shrinkage in length of the closing member meeting the above requirements filler member, on long ageing, With attendant 40 and, also, a method of manufacturing such memdevelopment of unfilled portions of the joint at her. Other features and advantages of the inthe end of the filler, the composition of the strip vention will appear from the detailed description is suitably compressed not only flatwise but also that follows. endwise, that is, in the direction of the longest 5 A preferred embodiment of the invention is ildimension of the finished strip, as well as in lustrated in the attached drawing and will be thickness, so that the lengthwise reexpansion will described in connection therewith. offset at least the normal shrinkage of the com- Fig. 1 shows a perspective View partly diagramposition of which the strip is composed. matic of a sheet article of joint-filler composition Suitable equipment for use in making the comat the stage of being inserted into a frame mempression is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. 50 her for compression. There is provided a frame l3 of steel or the Fig. 2 shows a sectional view of the sheet aslike, the thickness of which will determine the sembled between press members in the process thickness to which the filler composition is ultiof manufacture. mately compressed. Into this frame there is in- Fig. 3 shows a perspective View of a finished serted the formed and bonded sheet ll of filler 55 composition, the sheet being suitably bowed lengthwise, as illustrated in Fig. 1, so that, when later straightened by the press plates hi, there is endWise compression of the sheet H.

A convenient form for the press plates I4 is a hollow plate having inlet 55 and outlet l6 that may be used for steam or hot water for warming the sheet I l, preparatory to compression, and for cold water during the subsequent cooling operation.

In the press assembly shown in Fig. 2, I have used to advantage woven wire screens IT or like apertured members, placed between the faces of the sheet H and the plates 14, to expose a large proportion of the total exterior surface of the sheet II to communication with the atmosphere during the pressing operation and permit the escape of moisture as vapor from the hot composition. With such an assembly, a sheet, supplied to the press in air-dry condition and containing an amount of moisture varying with the humidity of the atmosphere, may be simultaneously dried and compressed. Also, the screen member in contact with the faces of the composition being compressed minimizes creeping or growing of the sheet ll during compression, particularly if the sheet is not confined at all edges. Furthermore, they produce a desirable roughening or marking of the faces of the article that reduces slippage of the finished strip when in use as a joint filler.

When the assembly has been made, the press plates Hi are forced against the composition H, as, for example, at about to 200 pounds pressure to the square inch, while the composition is in warm condition, as, for example, at 200 to 300 F. When the thickness of the sheet has been reduced so that the plates M are distant from each other by the thickness of the frame I3, say, when the composition has been pressed to approximately half of its original thickness, the plates i i are cooled, as by the circulation of cold water therethrough, and the compressed composition I l is thereby cooled and set in. preestablished thickness.

The compressed and thus set sheet material is then removed from the press and is sliced, for example,.into strips, such as shown in Fig. 3. As stated, these strips are substantially less in thickness than the width of joints that are to be filled. Thus, the strips may be of thickness equal approximately to 60 to 80 per cent of the said width of the joints and adapted, on reexpansion, to fill the joint. Likewise, the length of the strips may be appreciably shorter than the length of the space to be filled, say, shorter by one inch for a strip of ten foot length.

The strip is formed from the article or composition compressed as described. That is, the strip may constitute the whole of an originally properly sized article. Or, more economically, the strip is produced from an article that is a wide sheet as compressed, by cutting of the sheet into strips of desired dimensions.

In using a finished strip such as shown in Fig. 3, the strip is delivered to the place of installation in as nearly moisture-free condition as possible, as, for example, inside the wrapper [2. After the wrapper is removed, the strip is inserted edgewise into the joint. Absorption of moisture will then cause the strip to expand and completely fill the joint and cause the strip to be anchored in position.

In instances in which the joint is not closed at the bottom, as, for example, when the joint occurs between adjacent sections or units of roofing material, special precautions are necessary to avoid falling, through or from the joint, of the filler material that is undersized with respect to the joint when initially placed therein. For this purpose, there may be formed a joint filler strip such as shown in Fig. 4 having a narrow portion I8 corresponding to the strip shown in Fig. 3 and an enlargement or wide portion I9 constituting a shoulder adapted to be engaged and thus maintained above the joint to be filled and to establish the position of the narrow portion I3 within the joint, as illustrated in Fig. 5. When the narrow portion has expanded in the usual manner and become tightly engaged within the joint, the large portion 19 may be cut away, as along the dotted line 20, to leave the filler member practically fiush at its upper surface with the top of the adjacent sections of material forming therebetween the joint which is closed.

In making the filler member of shape shown in Fig. l, a generally plane sheet similar to that designated by El may be pressed between dies 2| having irregularities of surface, such as illustrated in Fig. 6, and adapted to produce thick portions of such dimensions and so spaced that, when the shaped sheet is removed from the press assembly and out along the dotted lines 22, there results a number of strips of generally T-shaped cross section.

In a modification of the general method of the invention, a filler strip including particles of cork and thermoset binder bonded and shaped, as described in the said patent to Edmonds, is softened and compressed at the time of installation in a joint. Thus, I may subject a strip of this composition to an elevated temperature, such as to dry heat at about 250 to 300 F. or to immersion in water that is at or near the boiling point, as, for instance, at or above F., until the strip is warmed throughout.

The strip is then compressed, by any suitable means to a thickness less than the width of the space to be filled, and forced into position therein. After the compression is released, the strip expands to fill the space.

For some purposes, units of natural cork may be used in place of the composition described above. Thus, a strip of natural cork may be heated and subsequently cooled, while under compression, to give a precompressed article adapted to reexpand on absorption of moisture.

It is not necessary to the invention to explain the changes which the strip undergoes and the invention is not limited to any theory of explanation of the mechanism by which the desired changes are produced.

The natural cork and also the composition made according to Edmonds contain each a binding material, in the one case, the natural binder occurring in the cork and, in the latter case, added binder also. These binders are alike in being yieldable, so that the article containing the binder may be compressed at elevated temperatures and reexpanded at ordinary temperatures, with maintenance of the resiliency of the article.

In connection with the various embodiments of the invention described, it will be understood that the thickness of the filler strip in normal condition should be at least slightly greater than the width of the joint to be filled.

It will be understood, also, that the details given are for the purpose of illustration, not restriction, and that variations within the spirit of the invention are to be included in the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. The method of preparing a joint filler which comprises heating a preformed resilient cork sheet consisting of granulated cork bonded with a thermoset binder to a temperature sufficient to soften the sheet, compressing the sheet while hot under a pressure of approximately to 200 pounds per square inch to reduce the thickness of the sheet to approximately one-half of its original thickness, and cooling the sheet while in its compressed state, whereby a sheet is obtained capable of retaining its reduced thickness in the absence of moisture but capable of expanding to approximately its original thickness when subjected to moisture.

2. A method of preparing a joint filler which comprises heating a formed resilient cork sheet to a temperature sufficient to soften the sheet, compressing the sheet while hot under a pressure of approximately 150 to 200 pounds per square inch to reduce the thickness of the sheet to approximately one-half of its original thickness and cooling the sheet while in its compressed state, whereby a sheet is obtained capable of retaining its reduced thickness in the absence of moisture but capable of expanding to approximately its original thickness when subjected to moisture.

3. The method of preparing a joint filler which comprises heating a formed resilient cork body to a temperature sufficient to soften the body, subjecting the body while hot to a pressure sufficient to reduce its thickness to approximately one-half of its original thickness and cooling the body while in its compressed state, whereby a cork body is obtained capable of retaining its reduced dimension in the absence of moisture but capable of expanding to approximately its original dimension when subjected to moisture.

4. The method of preparing a joint filler which comprises heating a preformed resilient cork sheet to a temperature suflicient to soften the sheet, subjecting the sheet while hot to pressures suihcient to reduce the thickness of the sheet to approximately one-half of its original thickness and to substantially reduce a linear dimension of the sheet, and cooling the sheet while in its compressed state, whereby a sheet is obtained capable of retaining its reduced dimensions in the absence of moisture, but capable of expanding to approximately its original dimensions when subiected to moisture.

5. A joint filler member comprising a substantially dry compressed cork strip capable of retaining its compressed state in the absence of moisture but capable of expanding to substantially its uncompressed dimensions when subjected to moisture, said member resulting from a method comprising heating a preformed resilient cork sheet consisting of granulated cork bonded with a thermoset binder to a temperature sufficient to soften the sheet, compressing the sheet While hot under a pressure of approximately 150 to 200 pounds per square inch to reduce the thickness of the sheet to approximately one-half of its original thickness and cooling the sheet while in its compressed state.

6. A joint filler member comprising a substantially dry compressed cork strip capable of retaining its compressed state in the absence of moisture but capable of expanding to substantially its uncompressed dimensions when subjected to moisture, said member resulting from a method comprising heating a preformed resilient cork sheet to a temperature sufficient to soften the sheet, subjecting the sheet while hot to a pressure sufficient to reduce the thickness of the sheet to approximately one-half of its original thickness, and cooling the sheet while in its compressed state.

7. A joint filler member comprising a substantially dry cork strip compressed in two dimensions and capable of retaining its compressed state in the absence of moisture but capable of expanding to substantially its uncompressed dimensions when subjected to moisture, said member resulting from a method comprising heating a preformed resilient cork sheet to a temperature sufficient to soften the sheeet, subjecting the sheet while hot to pressures sufficient to reduce the thickness of the sheet to approximately one-half of its original thickness and to substantially reduce a linear dimension of the sheet, and cooling the sheet while in its compressed state.

8. A joint filler member comprising a substantially dry cork strip compressed over the greater portion of its width, said compressed portion being capable of retaining its compressed state in the absence of moisture but capable of expanding to substantially the thickness of the uncompressed portion when subjected to moisture, said member resulting from a method comprising heating a preformed resilient cork sheet to a temperature sufficient to soften the sheet, subjecting the sheet over the greater portion of its area and while hot to a pressure sufficient to reduce the thickness of the compressed portion of the sheet to approximately one-half of its original thickness, and cooling the sheet while said portion is in its compressed state.

EDWARD M. JENKINS. 

